At the beginning, I gave up my military power with a cup of wine, and I ascended the throne

Chapter 224 Seizing the Five Counties of Youzhou

Xiao Han waved his hand and said to Lu Ju, "When the envoy leaves, remember to pick up some items to send with him. This will be a token of my appreciation."

"In the past few months, the old man Zhenbei Hou has deployed 200,000 troops at Tianxian Pass and 100,000 troops at Shuoyin to prevent the Northern Wei from moving south."

"You don't even care about Jizhou, but you want to protect us Xiliang."

He said seriously: "If anyone dares to speak ill of the old lady Zhenbei in front of me in the future, I will never forgive her."

"Yes."

Lu Ju nodded: "Zhenbei Hou certainly had foresight, predicting that the Northern Wei people would move south."

"Zhenbei Hou Dayi."

The other generals began to praise him.

The envoy complained in his heart, but his face remained calm: "At this time, the Northern Wei army is approaching, and the land of Jizhou is in danger. I hope that the Marquis will consider the friendship with the generals of Zhenbei Marquis and send troops north to attack the Northern Wei."

"this."

Xiao Han looked embarrassed, then he sighed, "You don't know, envoy, it's not that I don't want to, but I really can't. The three counties of Xiliang are already poor, with few soldiers and generals, and the autumn harvest is coming soon, so it's time to use people."

"And they have to stockpile heavy troops at Tianxian Pass and Qimen Pass. The miscellaneous Hu tribes around Shangdang frequently harass the border."

"With so few men under my command, how can we have the strength to march north to attack Northern Wei?"

"My Lord, the army at Tianxian Pass cannot be withdrawn."

Lu Ju said, "If the Jizhou army of the Zhenbei Marquis is transferred away, the Northern Wei army will turn around and Xiliang will be in danger."

"It was because Tianxian Pass was breached by the Northern Wei that we almost invaded Xiliang. This mistake must not be made a second time."

"Correct."

"The army at Tianxian Pass cannot move."

"We need to decibel the Northern Wei army."

Words rang out in the hall one after another.

Xiao Han smiled bitterly and looked at the Jizhou envoy in front of him: "You can see that the generals under my command all think that we cannot retreat."

"Little Fox."

The messenger cursed inwardly.

He decided not to beat around the bush. He had already seen that this Marquis of Xiliang was fearless.

He then got straight to the point and said, "The Marquis of Zhenbei is willing to give up three counties of Youzhou in exchange for the Marquis's sending troops to attack Northern Wei."

"Three counties?"

"To send away beggars."

Qin Yuanba snorted coldly, looking unhappy, "My 150,000 Xiliang Iron Cavalry, are they only worth three counties?"

"My Lord has a fief of 20,000 households, is the current emperor's son-in-law, and is a general of the first rank. And you just gave him three counties and sent him away?"

"Snapped"

Qin Yuanba opened his eyes wide and slapped his hands on the table. "Seven counties in Youzhou, my Lord doesn't want more, just six counties will do."

"impossible."

The messenger shook his head: "At most, we can only give three counties."

"My Lord, it is better to beat this treacherous villain out with a stick."

Zhuge Shou was furious.

"What do you do?"

Xiao Han glared at her, "Do you still have me as your Lord in your eyes?"

"Shut up, everyone."

"promise."

Those brave generals kept silent and just stared at the Jizhou envoy, wishing they could eat him alive, making him terrified and horrified.

"Please do not be surprised, messenger."

Xiao Han apologized, "These little bastards are used to being lawless. Sometimes I can't control them."

"But then again, the price you offered is indeed a bit low. Three counties are too few. Can you give me more?"

"The four counties of Youzhou."

The messenger said cautiously.

"Too little."

"I don't want six counties." Xiao Han said, "But I want at least five counties in Youzhou. If you give them to me, I can consider sending troops."

"this."

The envoy was in a dilemma. "Youzhou has seven counties in total. If we give you five counties, even if the Marquis of Zhenbei agrees, I'm afraid the court will not agree."

"Then you don't have to worry about it. If the court blames me, I will naturally bear the responsibility."

He spoke lightly.

"Four and a half."

The envoy wanted to fight for it, but Xiao Han's face suddenly darkened: "I don't want to waste time talking. If Zhenbei Marquis doesn't give it to me, I will go and get it myself."

"Give."

The messenger gritted his teeth and nodded.

"Qingyao, go get the documents."

The sky turned from cloudy to sunny, and he waved his hand. Qingyao went to the back hall. When she came back, she had three more sheepskin documents in her hand.

The document for the transfer of the five counties of Youzhou has been written, with three copies, one for Jizhou and one for Xiliang, and one copy submitted to the court for filing.

Seeing that the other party was so well prepared, the Jizhou envoy's mouth twitched, but the situation was pressing, so he could only sign and seal the three documents. After Xiao Han signed his name and stamped the seal of Xiliang Hou, half of the work was done.

"Emissary, take the document back quickly. Once the Zhenbei Marquis stamps it with his seal, it can be completed."

"My Lord, the military situation is extremely urgent and we cannot afford to delay any longer. Can you please allow General Chen to withdraw his troops first?"

The messenger put away the document and spoke quickly.

"can."

Xiao Han nodded, "But since the contract has been signed, there is no room for regret. This general will personally lead the troops to escort General Chen out of the five counties of Youzhou, and by the way, accept the people and cities in the five counties."

This is like not releasing the eagle before seeing the rabbit.

No way.

The messenger had no choice but to agree.

He personally escorted him out of the mansion, and when he returned to the hall, generals like Lu Ju were all delighted.

"Congratulations, Lord Marquis, for occupying the five counties of Youzhou without any effort."

They got down on one knee.

"Stop talking nonsense. Prepare your troops and follow me out of the city tomorrow to take over the five counties."

"Send someone back to Xiliang urgently, eight hundred miles away, and have the officials in the prefecture government prepare to set off for Youzhou."

"Also, have Pan Yuanshao select some people from Youzhou and send them over."

"Lu Ju, you hold my command arrow and lead 20,000 people to go ahead and prevent Xie Xuanli from evacuating the people in the five counties."

Xiao Han issued orders in an orderly manner.

Since the beginning of the year, Xiliang has been preparing to seize several counties in Youzhou. The officials have been selected and can take office at any time.

And those people who fled from Youzhou to Xiliang are also of great use. Taking them back can alleviate the resistance of the people in various counties.

"Also, mobilize 300,000 dan of grain from Xiliang."

"Of the seven counties in Youzhou, the three eastern counties are more fertile, while the four western counties are slightly poorer, but still better than Xiapi and Shangdang."

The five counties that Xiao Han wanted included the four western counties, namely Tianyuan, Shanggu, Anyang, Dai County and Changshan County on the border.

Among them, Changshan is the richest county in Youzhou, with a population of nearly one million.

Changshan was not originally among the five counties. The contract said it was Shanglin County, but Xiao Han did not want Shanglin.

What he wants is Changshan.

At dawn the next day.

Chen Qingzhao led 200,000 Jizhou cavalry to start attacking the camp, making a huge noise. Xiao Han led 100,000 Xiliang cavalry out of Tianxian Pass, 20 miles away, and hung behind Chen Qingzhao.

At the same time, he closely monitored the movements of the 100,000 cavalrymen in Shuoyin City, and after confirming that these 100,000 men were staying put.

Xiao Han finally breathed a sigh of relief.

This important bald guy stopped us from going to war with Xiliang.

A few days.

He successfully captured the three counties of Tianyuan, Shanggu and Anyang and sent troops to garrison them.

Upon hearing that Marquis Xiliang was coming with 100,000 cavalrymen, the local noble families and officials rushed out of the city to greet him, and countless people cheered.

(End of this chapter)